More Reasons Why Charles Woodson Didn't Deserve To Win The Heisman
Friday, December 26, 2008
I know I'm late on this (surprise, surprise) but several of you wrote to me after I posted about Charles Woodson vs. Eric Berry and compared their stats. That post was here.
Here were Woodson's stats in his Heisman year. In 1997 Woodson had 8 interceptions that he returned for a grand total of 7 yards (with no touchdowns), 47 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss and 1 sack. On offense and special teams he had 12 receptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns, and 36 punt returns (for an average of 8.1 yards) with 1 returned for a touchdown.
Anyway, after that post a couple of you sent emails or made me aware of other SEC players who had better seasons than Woodson. Feast your eyes on these.
First, Champ Bailey. This was posted by hoopscoach21 as a comment but was definitely worth of attention.
Let's compare Woodson to Champ Bailey. I think that this will further strengthen your argument that Woodson's season (for all its greatness) was also padded by the media hype.
1998: Champ Bailey
52 tackles, 3 int's, 7 passes defensed
47 catches, 744 yards 5 td's;
16 carries, 86 yards;
12 ko returns, 261 yards;
4 punt returns, 49 yards;
Averaged 104 yards per game;
played 957 snaps that season
By the way, fyi, what is "Champ" Bailey's real name? Roland. Anyway, Bailey was the Bronco Nagurski defensive player of the year in 1998 and also left college a year early.
Still not convinced Woodson was the beneficiary of the ESPN hype machine. How about we compare Woodson's Heisman year with Keiwan Ratliff of Florida.
From reader Josh comes this:
C’lay,
Good analysis of Eric Berry vs. Charles Woodson. Woodson was – by far – the most overrated Heisman winner ever. A few weeks ago, I was watching the Saints-Packers MNF game (I’m a Saints fan) with a buddy of mine whose parents are from Michigan. When the announcers first mentioned Woodson, he shouted “Heisman!” … to which I replied “Bullshit!” He was quite pleased with my opinion on the matter.
Anyway, after I asserted that Woodson-over-Manning was one of the greatest travesties in Heisman history, we got into a debate about the comparative merits of Woodson. Being a Gator fan, I claimed that Woodson was no better statistically during his Heisman year than Keiwan Ratliff (“Who?” Exactly.) in 2003.
During that year, these were Ratliff’s stats:
9 INTs for 182 yds., 2 TDs
49 Tackles, 1 TFL
31 punt returns, 11.1 avg.
4 receptions, 58 yds., 1 TD
6 pass break-ups
1 forced fumble
2 fumble recoveries, 111 yds., 2 TDs
1 blocked kick
These are certainly comparable to, if not better than, Woodson’s 1997 stats. However, much like Berry, Ratliff didn’t even win the Thorpe award (although I’ll freely admit that Berry is the more talented of the two) … which went to Derrick Strait of Oklahoma instead of Ratliff or Sean Taylor.
Moral of the story? Charles Woodson sucks, and the end-of-the-year awards suck. Either Woodson’s 1997 Heisman trophy should have been awarded to Manning, or at least 4 defensive players since 1997 should have won the Heisman. Nothing Woodson did was particularly special.
Feel free to pass this along to your wife and her family.
So, yeah, Charles Woodson sucks. How much? Gino Torretta was more deserving. Merry Christmas. Labels: charles woodson comparisons keiwan ratliff champ bailey eric berry most overrated heisman winner ever
Posted by Clay Travis at 11:12 AM
 
Permalink
Digg this Post
Email this Post
0 Comments:
<< Home
Previous Posts
| |
Travis has become enamored of several objects, phrases or events which he frequenly references in the column. Among the most frequent:
'Bama Bangs - a term coined by Travis to refer to southern men's hairstyles that feature prominent bangs for no apparent reason. Brodie Croyle and John Parker Wilson are oft-cited violators of 'Bama Bangs rules.
Read More...
When Clay Travis, acclaimed author of Dixieland Delight, decided to spend the 2008 season up close and personal with UT football, he—and every other college football aficionado—thought he was in for a rollicking ride with one of the leading contenders for the national title. After all, when the Vols kicked off the season on September 1, the defending SEC East champions were ranked 18th in the country. As head coach Phillip Fulmer prepared for the game, he reflected upon a coaching career that included an astounding 147 victories, two SEC championships, and a national title. With 34 years at UT under his belt as both a player and coach, the Tennessee native had just signed a contract extension that projected to keep him at the university long enough to become the winningest coach in program history.
Read More...
There is no college ball more passionate and competitive than football in the Southeastern Conference, where seven of the twelve schools boast stadiums bigger than any in the NFL and 6.5 million fans hit the road every year to hoot and holler their teams to victory.
Read More...
The newly favored man is not really a man at all, but a hairless, effeminate, germ-fearing, non-meat-eating, exfoliating, wristband-wearing woman of the worst order. We as men are told that we must embrace the sacred feminine in ourselves, even if it doesn't actually exist, and become the very quintessence of woman, plus penises. This situation is untenable. This trend must stop.
Read More...
Clay Travis is the only former student manager in the history of college athletics to marry an NFL cheerleader. He managed to pull this off despite an irrational affinity for the television shows Dawson's Creek and My Super Sweet 16. While being raised in Nashville, Tenn., Travis developed a healthy obsession with college sports and Alyssa Milano. As a teenager his greatest accomplishment was taking a doo-rag wearing Luke Duke (balling as Tom Wopat) to the hole at the Nashville YMCA.
In the midst of a stellar legal career during which he specialized in rewarding the unjust and punishing the oppressed, Travis began writing for CBS Sports's SPiN section in September 2005...
Read More...
|
